Ukrainian soldiers fold the Ukrainian flag, which was removed by a Crimean pro- Russian self-defense force at the Ukrainian Navy headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, Wednesday, March 19, 2014. An Associated Press photographer said several hundred militiamen took down the gate and made their way onto the base. They then raised the Russian flag on the square by the headquarters. The unarmed militia waited for an hour on the square before the move to storm the headquarters. Following the arrival of the commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet, the Crimeans took over the building. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s security chief says that the country has decided to leave Russia-dominated alliance of ex-Soviet nations.

Andriy Parubiy, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council secretary, said Wednesday it has made a decision to exit the Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of 11 former Soviet nations.

The move follows Russia’s takeover of the Crimean peninsula.

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